


a spirit, renewed

by serpentineshadows



Series: again and again [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Again, Drabble, Gen, I don't know what I'm doing with my life, Mentions of Ace's death, No Dialogue, Time Loop AU, basically no plot???, no beta as usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 17:03:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16520456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serpentineshadows/pseuds/serpentineshadows
Summary: A look into one of the times Luffy doesn't save Ace. (Same set-up asthe universe, entranced by a stubborn heart, but you don't have to read that to read this because there's a description of the background inside.)





	a spirit, renewed

**Author's Note:**

> for ppl who have not read [_the universe, entranced by a stubborn heart_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618153), copied over from the end notes:  
> "To explain the time loop, when Luffy runs off into Amazon Lily and before Jinbe catches up to him, he runs into this machine (mentioned at the beginning of the story). I've decided that Vegapunk tried to build a time machine, but it malfunctioned and over the course of several years, ended up on Amazon Lily, unbeknownst to its residents. It's still malfunctioning, which is why Luffy repeats the events of the Amazon Lily & Impel Down arcs without actually having to return to the machine."

Blood’s dripping onto the grass from all his open wounds, but Luffy can barely feel it. His vision’s all hazy, probably from the good punch that one of the Admirals got in, and the tingly feeling in his feet…probably from the ice or magma guy’s attacks.

Luffy tries to sit up, but his body won’t move. Tears slide down his cheeks, wetting the grass along with his blood, and he screams himself hoarse, but it doesn’t change anything. Nothing’s changed for the better since he’s started trying to save Ace, each time worse than the last.

And now Luffy’s racked up so many injuries, that first X on his chest still a light pink, but countless others still in various stages of healing. He’s unrecognizable at this point. 

(“L-Luffy? Is that really you, Luffy?” Ace asked the last time, and he sounded so sad. Luffy just wants Ace to be happy, as he should be. What’s so wrong with that?)

So Luffy’s still trying to push himself to keep going, no matter how many times he’s held Ace’s dead body in his arms, no matter how many times he sees friends fall, because it’s not going to happen again. He’s not going to let it, if only he could move.

Luffy’s stubborness is unshakable, his steel resolve the bane of many, but… 

(Everyone’s got their limits, and at times like this, when he’s all alone and saving Ace seems like a dream forever out of his grasp, Luffy wonders if he should’ve listened to Ace that first time. He should’ve just let Ace be because Ace can take care of himself—

Except when he can’t, so there is a point to Luffy’s efforts. Ace asked to be saved that first time, too, so one of these days, any day now, Luffy’s going to succeed. Has to. Needs to.)

Just for this time, Luffy doesn’t go running off to save Ace immediately. His body can’t move, exhausted from repeating the same terrible fight over and over again, so he rests, dreaming of Ace’s smile, of getting to save Ace.

And the next time he wakes, atop a bed of his own dried blood, time having reset itself, he’ll set off to achieve the impossible. Because that’s the least Luffy can do for Ace.

**Author's Note:**

> my works are getting shorter and shorter?? let me just blame this on linear algebra


End file.
